Spring Riding

Hey there,

We've just had a lazy 9 days off for 'Golden Week', and spent the entire time at Nakayama Toge, a small ski resort about 1 1/2 hours from Sapporo. The snow was soft and slushy and the weather perfect for enjoying BBQs and riding in just t-shirts. It was pretty exhausting at times as the 'park' was the only thing worth hitting...that means jumpy, jumpy, jumpy!! Luckily, neither of us hurt ourselves too much. Last Sunday was the closing day for all mountains across Sapporo so unfortunately, we'll have to wait till next season to shred again. Join us in 2007/08 if you're keen...

Click here to see our Spring riding photos.

Just Married!

Hi all,

It's been a rather a long time since we've posted anything so apologies to those who've been making the effort to check out our blog! We've been kinda busy for the last 6 months planning our wedding and organising ourselves for our trip to Australia. No excuse I know...but that's all I can offer other than admit that, yes, we're bloody hopeless!

The big day took place on Saturday, March 31st. We had a wonderful time and were really grateful that so many people from Australia, England, New Zealand and Japan could be there. Big thanks to all you guys...it was an amazing effort.

The festivities continued the Monday after with a pool party and BBQ. I think the record was 17 people in the spa at one time...but I'm personally finding it difficult to recall exact numbers...Flid...any assistance here?? Hope you had fun anyway...I know I did (until about 2am when I had to make a few visits to a little porcelain friend).

So, we're back in Sapporo and it's sort of good to be living normally again. There's still a bit of snow around so lots more riding to be done too. Ben's working like a dog till 10pm most nights and life goes on as usual for me work-wise. Although, funnily enough I had a casting for a bridal catalogue the other day...can't get away! Not too confident about getting the job as apparently the client likes models of the so young they still wear braces variety but it's all good for a laugh.

Well, if I can work out how, you should be able to check out some wedding photos...sorry for the delay..it would be that 'hopeless' thing I mentioned earlier!

Cheers everyone!

Wedding Photos

Click here to see some of our wedding photos.

So for the last 3 months...

Ben has taken to the summer season with gusto by learning the fearless art of river rafting. He even made his own boat (see the pic). Dressed as 'salary' men and equipped with their expertly crafted homemade raft, he and his friends took to the high seas and competed in Sapporo's infamous Ikada Race. As the only 'gaijin', they were easy to spot as they bravely fought their way to the finish line. I've chosen a more conventional way to enjoy the summer. After searching Sapporo far and wide for rollerskates (I've always had a bit of a Xanadu thing) and failing to locate a pair, I bought myself some rollerblades (hush now). We're both extremely excited about our trip to Australia in August. I personally can't wait for a decent drop of Aussie red and a juicy steak. If you're in the neighbourhood from August 1st - 14th, drop us a email and hopefully we can catch up.

March 2006

Brrrooomm, brrrooomm!! We have a car. After a long and tedious bureacratic adventure, Ben managed to coordinate the buying, selling, registering, parking and insuring of a brand new 1994 Subaru - not an easy feat when you're dealing with paperwork that not even the natives understand! But it's all been worth it so far and getting to the mountain for that last bit of late winter snow has never been easier.

Fickle February

February hasn't been the best month. Michaela managed to find the only ice in the powder and skewer her tailbone on it. Ben managed to become prematurely old and get gout in his knee, and the weather has completely failed to remember that it's winter. It's risen above 0 and stopped snowing. None of these were things to put a smile on your face. However, today there has been a marked improvement in both of our infirmaties and it snowed for about 12 hours.
All is becoming right with the world.

Happy New Year!

We've created this blog to keep family and friends posted about our life in Japan. So feel free to comment when you get a chance - we'd love to hear your news.

2005 was a great year for us. We met, moved in together, got engaged, changed jobs, had visits from Michaela's mum, brother and sister-in-law as well as Ben's friend Neil, we moved into a lovely apartment, and to top it all off, we went to London to say hello to Mummy Strivens and Ben's sister.

Here's hoping 2006 is just as wonderful!

Ben and Michela xxx

Jinglish